Gold: A Tight Trading Range

If you look at the gold chart the range is really getting compressed. We're not breaking out but we're not breaking down. It's getting narrower and narrower, we're really consolidating.

Related trading instruments: 

• Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX)
• Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ)
• SPDR Gold Trust ETF (GLD)

Stock Market: We Are In A Bear Market

We're in a bear market, it's just not officially acknowledged yet. You know, just like a lot of times you know they don't acknowledge the recession until after you have two quarters of negative GDP growth but clearly you're in the recession for a long time before it's officially admitted. 

There's one caveat if the Federal Reserve comes in and changes the game by taking away the rate hikes or launching QE 4 then we may never make it to a bear market. But if the Federal Reserve continues on its current path and maintains the current pretense then we are in a bear market and it's only a question of time before it is officially acknowledged.

Related trading instruments: 

• SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY)
• SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA)
• iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (IWM)
• Nasdaq 100 Index ETF (QQQ)

Stock Market: More Down Quarters To Come

The market action that I've been observing really to me looks like a bear market. 

For the first quarter all the major stock market indexes were down. This was the first time in 10 quarters as we had 9 consecutive positive quarters (I think that's a record).

The US stock market finally broke that winning streak we'll see how investors who thought the US stocks can only go up may react to their first down quarter in ten. But it's not going to be the last down quarter, I think this could be the beginning of several more down quarters to come.

Related trading instruments: 

• iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (IWM)
• SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY)
• Nasdaq 100 Index ETF (QQQ)
• SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA)